What would a lender need to assess this nail salon?
Illustrative case · Leased employee-operated nail salon; no booth rentals · New York State outside NYC, Long Island and Westchester; no particular city/site
Explore this business · Financing options
The illustrative $218,453 request is funded by $130,000 assumed debt and $88,453 owner contribution. The modeled loan uses 10.5% fixed annual interest for 120 monthly payments, about $1,754 each. A lender still needs a viable local case, documented equity and permission to operate; these terms and approval are unverified.
Illustrative New York State case outside New York City, Long Island and Westchester; no particular city or property. Four licensed employee technicians, four manicure and four pedicure stations, leased retained-salon premises, paid owner-manager. No booth rental, retail, acrylic extensions or intricate nail art. Assumed opening January 2027; figures are USD.
Observed SBA industry evidence
Lending activity in the broader category
NAICS 812113 covers nail salons across formats and sizes. It does not isolate this case: Leased employee-operated nail salon; no booth rentals. Loan records do not establish local demand, costs or operating performance.
These are positive-amount loan records selected by approval fiscal year and PIF, CHGOFF or EXEMPT status at the stated snapshot. They are not unique firms, search volumes, approval probabilities or loans disbursed during that year.
Read this industry’s amounts, terms, lenders and outcomes.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA files, snapshot 30 June 2026. Recomputed from original records on 1 October 2026. FY2025 is the most recent complete fiscal year in these files. Definitions and exclusions.
Match the funding route to what the money buys
| Source / use | USD | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Loan assumption | $130,000 | Not a lender offer or an assumed SBA approval |
| Owner cash contribution | $88,453 | Required opening balancing source |
| TOTAL SOURCES | $218,453 | Equals all startup uses |
| Installed CAPEX | $101,892 | Equipment, works, logistics, contingency |
| Opening expenses | $16,561 | Includes assumed loan fee |
| Deposit + stock | $10,000 | Assets at opening |
| Cash available at opening | $90,000 | Reserve after the other uses |
SBA 7(a) guidance lists working capital and eligible equipment among possible uses, subject to program and lender requirements. SBA 504 guidance concerns eligible long-lived fixed assets and does not fund working capital or inventory. A leased retrofit with a large cash reserve cannot simply put every use into one 504 amount. Owner cash, conventional debt or equipment finance need their own priced terms and restrictions.
The 2.0% fee budget is a case allowance on the modeled loan, not a statement of a current SBA guaranty fee. No construction grace period is assumed: interest and principal start in operating month 1. Landlord allowances, grants or subsidized rates are not included.
Prove repayment from the operating book
Base Year 1 cash after debt is −$65,126; the reserve funds the opening deficit. Year 2 EBITDA / scheduled debt service is 2.45x. This illustrative pre-tax proxy is not the lender’s DSCR or an approval cutoff; lender definitions may adjust taxes, distributions, replacement investment and other obligations.
- Monthly service mix, measured durations, justified realized prices and a bookings ramp tied to specific acquisition/repeat-customer evidence.
- Paid staff and owner duties, licenses, actual wage offers, burden quotes and scheduling coverage; distinguish net owner living needs from modeled gross pay.
- Signed sources and uses with owner contribution, site deposits, loan fees and reserve; supplier and trade quotes must state installation scope.
- Personal/business records, credit and financial history, collateral/guaranty information and other obligations as requested by the lender.
The document checklist helps organize records. The future personalized preparation service is coming soon; it does not make lending decisions.
Operating permission must precede opening
The business needs the applicable appearance-enhancement business license; each technician needs an individual nail-specialty license. The owner-manager is not counted as a service provider. DOS nail licensing; business versus operator FAQ. Confirm the lease permits nail operations, wet services, dedicated electrical loads and ventilation penetrations.
Ventilation certification, sanitation workflow, appropriate liability cover and wage security should be traceable to the actual site and staff. The $25,000 wage-security face amount in the modeled staffing band is distinct from the premium already provisionally budgeted within insurance. Business insurance and wage-security requirements; ventilation and sanitation rules. Verify current local requirements and 2025-code amendments with the designer and authority.
Use SBA medians only with their program and denominator
What SBA records can establish
The broad NAICS 812113 nail-salon group has 211, 280 and 360 included approval records in FY2023, FY2024 and FY2025: 851 over those three fiscal cohorts. FY2025 separates 359 7(a) records from 1 504 record. SBA FOIA snapshot, June 30, 2026.
Counts include PIF, CHGOFF and EXEMPT at the snapshot, excluding commitments, cancellations, not-funded and ambiguous closed records. They are loan records, not unique businesses, search demand or applicant approval probability. The broad industry includes other staffing arrangements; it cannot isolate this employee-operated format or provide local operating margins.
FY2025 7(a) approved-amount median is $150,000 across 359 valid 7(a) amounts. The original-term median is 120 months, and historical initial-rate median is 10.5% across the same 359 rate observations. That historical rate is not a current quote; the modeled rate is separately assumed. The one 504 record is below the 25-observation median floor, so its amount/term medians are suppressed. A 504 approved amount describes only its SBA/CDC share, not total project cost.
The verified broad aggregates establish observed industry lending records. They do not reveal these operators’ payroll, occupancy, profitability, exact booth arrangement or application approval chances. Read the dedicated SBA industry profile for the broader category’s defined samples and downloadable aggregates.
Do not finance a structurally impossible appointment book
Downside cash break-even needs 493 completed appointments, corresponding to 102.4% booked utilization. The case cannot achieve that time requirement. Its additional unfunded five-year cash need of $573,317 is a warning to redesign the real menu, roster or premises before borrowing.
Priority closing evidence is a premium-price demand test, measured service times, staff hiring offers, a real lease and engineered installation quotes. The base keeps only $17,510 at its trough despite the large opening reserve. A later opening, retrofit surprise or more cancellations needs a fresh model run. Wage obligations and OSHA nail-salon workplace guidance apply irrespective of a soft sales ramp.
Sources and scope
- Declared nail-salon planning assumptions · Checked 2026-10-04 · Fictional planning choices documented in FINANCIAL_ASSUMPTIONS.md and inputs.json; no premises quote, customer bookings or lender offer.
- SBA 7(a)/504 public data, June 2026 extract · Checked 2026-10-04 · Hash-verified local snapshot as of 2026-06-30; FY2023–FY2025 PIF/CHGOFF/EXEMPT records under broad 812113; counts not unique businesses.
- SBA 7(a) loan uses · Checked 2026-10-04 · Current primary program description: eligible working capital, equipment and multiple-purpose financing; no case approval, rate or equity requirement established.
- SBA 504 loan uses · Checked 2026-10-04 · Current primary program description: long-term fixed assets; excludes working capital and inventory.
- New York nail specialty licensing · Checked 2026-10-04 · Operator licensing pathways; this case assumes four already licensed workers, no trainees or owner-provided nail services.
- New York appearance business and area-renter FAQ · Checked 2026-10-04 · Business versus individual license, and additional area-renter license for independent renter; no classification safe harbor.
- New York: appearance enhancement business · Checked 2026-10-04 · Business licensing, liability cover and wage-security requirement; bond face amount is not its premium.
- New York appearance enhancement law and regulations · Checked 2026-10-04 · DOS-hosted compilation inspected, §§160.16–160.20: nail ventilation and sanitation. Not a site approval or complete 2025 building-code design.
- New York DOL: nail salon wages · Checked 2026-10-04 · 2026 regional minimum wages, pay for all hours, weekly overtime and no nail-salon tip credit; does not quote the case hiring wage.
- New York 2025 Uniform and Energy Code adoption · Checked 2026-10-04 · 2025 code books and amendments apply to permit applications from 2025-12-31; July 2026 notice update reviewed.
- OSHA: nail salon hazards and worker status · Checked 2026-10-04 · Chemical, ergonomic and biological hazard categories and practical employee/contractor examples; no installed-cost or capacity standard.